Budget HDTVs don't usually have great pictures, they don't often come in large sizes, and they very rarely have 3D. The Samsung PN51E490B4F surprises us with a solid picture, a 51-inch plasma screen, and active 3D with two pairs of glasses included. At $689.99 (direct) there are some compromises, though; it's only 720p in a world of 1080p screens and its black levels aren't the greatest. Still, it's an affordable way to get a big-screen 3D movie experience into your home for less than $700. As a result, it's our new Editors' Choice for budget HDTVs.

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DesignAs expected from a budget HDTV, the PN51E490 is unassuming in its design. The bezel is flat, black, slightly glossy, and utterly plain, with a single red light in the lower left corner to show whether it's on and responding to the remote control. A control nub is hidden behind the bezel near the light; the nub handles all on-screen selections. Instead of individual buttons for power, channels, volume control, and menu navigation, the nub moves in four directions like a small joystick and can be pressed like a button to confirm choices. It's a bit awkward, but not much worse than the on-screen controls of most HDTVs; you'll be using the remote control the vast majority of the time, anyway. On the back, only a single HDMI port and a single USB port sit facing left for easy access. The screen's only other HDMI port (for a total of two) sits facing directly back, along with component, composite, digital audio, and Ethernet ports.

The 6.7-inch remote is short and simple, but slightly awkward. The numbers are tightly clustered and backlit. The clustered layout can be a problem when using the control pad; the directions are rectangular and surrounded by similar rectangular buttons, so it can be hard to get a good feel for the directions and confirmation/source button.

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At $700 for a 51-inch screen, you have to make some compromises, and after the 720p resolution the next compromise is online services. Don't expect any of Samsung's apps or streaming services like Netflix or Hulu Plus; at most, you can locally access networked content through DLNA, but that's about it. It does support 3D, though, and even comes with two pairs of passive 3D glasses, making it one of the least expensive options for watching 3D movies on a big screen. If you want to watch most 3D content, you'll have to get a 3D-capable Blu-ray player, which often includes plenty of online content services like Netflix and Hulu Plus.

PerformanceBecause it's such a large 720p screen, you'll notice a difference between it and a 1080p HDTV. The picture simply isn't as sharp because it's showing lower resolution over a large area. If it was smaller than 40 inches it wouldn't be as noticeable, but as it is, it's a distinctly less clear picture. If you sit more than 10 feet away from the screen, it will be less of an issue, but at the six to eight-foot distance the pixels will pop out compared to screens with full high definition.

We test HDTVs with a Konica-Minolta CS 200 ChromaMeter, DisplayMate test patterns, and SpectraCal's CalMAN software. According to our tests, the PN51E490B4F did surprisingly well in all fields except black levels. Since it's a plasma, it put out only 43.43 cd/m2 with the entire screen lit up white, but its spot white level was a solid 225.08 cd/m2. Its black levels were disappointing but not surprising for a budget TV; it only reached 0.08 cd/m2, a mediocre score at best. Combined, the screen has a contrast ratio of 2,814:1.

The color levels were nearly perfect. The PN51E490B4F has only a few picture settings: three picture modes and a basic red-green tint slider in addition to the standard brightness, contrast, sharpness, and saturation levels. The Standard and Dynamic settings produced terrible results, but Movie mode made the screen render colors with excellent accuracy, as seen in the CIE color comparison chart below. Green leaned slightly cool, but red and blue channels were spot-on.

I watched scenes from Apocalypse Now Redux on Blu-ray, and the PN51E490B4F performed very well for its price. The overcast skies were neutral and the colored smoke of the signals and the flames of the napalm strikes popped out vividly. While it was slightly weak in shadow detail, it still produced fine aspects of the dark patterns of the uniforms, and I could see every contour of Robert Duval's cavalry hat. Colors seemed slightly oversaturated out of the box, but that's one of the few picture settings you can adjust to get it to the right level.

The 3D looks surprisingly good, and the two included pairs of active 3D glasses are a pleasant surprise. Footage of 3D PlayStation games Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One and Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception popped out and showed pleasant depth. The screen showed very little crosstalk except when I was right on top of it.

Since it's a plasma HDTV, the PN51E490B4F is a power hog. With no energy saving features turned on, it consumes an average of 176 watts. With the energy saving feature set to Medium, it consumes an average of 123 watts, but the screen borders on too dark to watch comfortably. The best compromise is the Low energy saving setting, which keeps the screen bright and consumes an average of 150 watts.

For less than $700, the Samsung PN51E490B4F is an inexpensive way to get a large, 3D-capable HDTV into your home. Its colors are surprisingly accurate, and while its black levels are unimpressive, it looks good for its price. Its only weaknesses are its 720p resolution and its lack of online services, and you can fix the latter issue with almost any 3D Blu-ray player, set-top box, or game console. We haven't tested many large HDTVs in this price range, since there aren't many models to which this is directly comparable, but the Vizio M3D550KD our previous Editors' Choice for budget HDTVs, comes close. If you want a big, 3D picture in your home and don't mind making a few compromises for a very low price, this is the screen to beat.

Will Greenwald has been covering consumer technology for more than six years, and has served on the editorial staffs of CNET.com, Sound & Vision, and Maximum PC. Since graduating from Syracuse University in 2005, Will has...

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